Lamp shade



V. C. SMITH ET AL March 12, 1957 LAMP SHADE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 5, 1955 INVENTORS'.

ATTORNEYS March 12, 1957 v, c, SMITH ET AL LAMP SHADE 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Oct. 5, 1953 asmizh 3.

ZLS'earcy INVENTORS ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent LAMP SHADE Vernon C. Smith and Richard I. Searcy, San Antonio, Tex.

Application October 5, 1953, Serial No. 384,113

1 Claim. (Cl. 240-108) This invention relates to a lamp shade and more particularly to a lamp shade having a cover with shutters operable by a person adjacent to the lamp to vary the illumination from the lamp where and as desired.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a lamp shade as a cover for a lamp wherein the lamp shade is provided with windows through which light from the shaded lamp may pass and shutters movable on the lamp shade operable to vary the light from the light shade from a minimum amount of light as required in a sick room to a maximum amount of light as for reading.

Another Object of this invention is to provide a lamp shade of the kind to be more particularly described hereinafter which is operable by a person in a room with the lamp for varying the amount of light cast from the lamp in several directions and the variance of the amount of light cast in one direction in no manner afiects the light emanating from the lamp in any other direction.

A further object of this invention is to provide a lamp shade of this kind which may be easily constructed and manufactured at a low cost and readily assembled and operated by a person without any special tools or special skill even by a person unskilled in mechanical assembly work.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter described and the novel features thereof defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a lamp shade constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Fig. 2. is a longitudinal section of the lamp shade.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. is a side elevation of a modified form of a lamp shade constructed according to this invention.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the modified form of this invention shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of a second modified form of this invention.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detailed section of the operating means for the shutters in the modified form of this invention shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 10 designates generahy a lamp shade, constructed according to an embodiment of this invention having a frusto-conical body 11 extending longitudinally of a lamp 12 secured in a lamp socket 13 and the wire 14 is connected to the lamp socket for illuminating the lamp bulb 12. The lamp 1!) is particularly designed for use as a bed lamp although the particular stnlcture of the support for the lamp shade is not shown in the drawings. The bed lamp and lamp shade 19 may be built and actuated by a person confined in a sick room. The frusto-conical body 11 is secured at its narrow end to the lamp socket 13 by wings 15 which extend laterally from the lamp socket 13 and engage the inner side of the narrow end of the frusto-conical lamp shade body 11 with the larger end of the lamp shade body extending forwardly therefrom and forward of the light bulb or lamp 12. The lamp shade 10 and the frusto-conical body 11 may be made from sheet metal or other thin sheet material with the lamp socket 13 closing the rear narrow end of the body 11.

A front end wall 16 is secured to the larger end of the body 11 and is provided with a pair of openings 17 on the surface thereof through which light emanating from the lamp 12 may be passed and controlled by the person having the lamp 10. Shutters 18 are slidably supported on the front end walls 16 and overlie the opening 17 as far as desired by the person having the lamp shade It The front wall 16 is concavo-convex in configuration having the concave side directed toward the lamp bulb 12 and the convex side outwardly of the lamp shade 10.

The side edges of the opening 17 are cylindrical in configuration as clearly shown in Fig. l of the drawings having the axis of the segmental circular formation of the L-shaped arcuate guides or channels 19 disposed slightly below the axis of the lamp 12 whereby the light emanating from the lamp will be directed somewhat downwardly from the lamp shade 19 with the shutters 18 positioned in their open position relative to the openings 17. The side edge of each of the shutters 18 is segmentally circumferential for engaging in the L shaped arcuate guides or channels 19 and a finger handle 20 is secured to each of the shutters for sliding the shutters in their respective guides or channels for closing the openings 17 or for partially opening the openings as desired.

With the shutters 18 completely raised in each of the guides or channels 19, the light from the lamp 12 will be directed slightly downwardly of the axis of the lamp 12 and of the lamp shade 10 because of the eccentric disposition of the arcuate guide channels 19. The shutters 18 may be moved in their respective L shaped channels by a person lying in a sick bed or by any other person adjacent to the lamp shade for controlling the amount of light from the lamp to be cast on the person or in the vicinity of a person adjacent to the lamp shade. With both of the shutters 18 moved to their lowermost position, the light from the lamp is completely shut ofi from the lamp shade and either one of the shutters 18 may be moved to an open position, or partly open position for directing the light from the lamp to one side or the other of the lamp shade.

In Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings there is shown a modified form of this invention wherein the shutters 28 are moved in a straight path within the L shaped guide channels 29 secured to the front end wall 26 of the modified form of lamp shade.

In this first modified form of the invention, the front end wall 26 is concavo-convex in configuration having the concave side thereof in the direction of the light bulb and secured in a socket 23 having the wire 24 extending from the socket. Openings 27 are provided on the front end wall 26 and the shutters 28 are adapted to be slid directly upwardly or downwardly in the L-shaped guide channel 29 by the handle 30 which is secured to one edge of each of the shutters 28.

The openings 27 are disposed below the axis of the frusto-conical modified form of the body 21 in about the same manner as the form of the invention described above. Instead of the shutters 28 moving in an arcuate path in the guide channels 29, the shutters 28 are moved in a straight line in the vertically straight guide channels and either one of the shutters 28 may be opened or closed independently of the other shutter in the first modified form of the lamp shade.

In Figs. 6 to 8 of the drawings there is shown a second modified form of this invention having a second modified form of lamp shade 31 enclosing a lamp 32 with a lamp socket 33 disposed at the rear or confined end of the lamp shade .31 with the lamp bulb 32 on one side of the socket and the Wire 34 engaged in the lamp socket at the opposite end from the electric lamp 32.

In this second modified vform of the lamp shade 31, the socket 33 will close the rear narrow end of the frusto conical 'body of the lamp shade and a front end wall 36 is secured to the front end of the lamp shade and is provided with openings 37 therein through which the illumination from the lamp 3?. may be passed and while. the front end wall 36 is concavo-convex in configuration, the openings, 3'7 therein are positioned circumferentia'lly about the axis of the front end walls as; and shutters 38, formed as circular segments, may overlie the openings 37 for blocking'out any light from the lamp 32 passing through the front end walls 36.

A tubular sleeve 39 is secured in the front wall 36 for circular rotating movement and is connected at its rear end within the center of the lamp shade 31 to one of the shutters 38 for moving the shutter 38 from a position overlying one of the openings 37 or from an overlying position relative to the respective opening. A shaft 40 is rotatably secured Within the sleeve 39 for rotation about a horizontal axis and is secured at its inner end within the lamp shade 31 to the other of the shutters 38 and a crank 41 isfixed to the outer end of the sleeve 39 and another similar crank 41 is secured to the outer end of the shaft 40 outwardly of the lamp shade 31 and the shutters 38 may be moved within the lamp shade 31 by the handle 42 which is secured to the outer end of each of the cranks 41 so that one or both of the shutters 38 may be moved from or to an open or closed position.

While the specific details of this invention have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claim. a

I claim: a

A lamp shade comprising :an opaque frusto-conical body, a cylindrical light socket encompassing member in the small end of said body, radially disposed webs fixed between said member and the small end of said body, a dome-shaped outer end wall carried by the large end of said body, said outer end wall having a pair of rectangular openings, vopposed guides fixed to said outer end Wall and extending from each opening, and a closure plate for each opening slidable in said guides.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,443,106 Walsh Jan. 23, 1923 1,468,451 'Ade Sept. 18, 1923 1,801,010 Koening Apr. 14, 1931 2 ,075,199 Homer Mar. 30, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 805,078 France Aug. 17, 1936 

